Marineford War: I Will Stand in the Sky

This choice... is almost no different from intending to challenge the entire "Whitebeard Pirates" by himself.

That's right!

Lieutenant General Yann was right after all, and they weren't wrong either...

As for the cowardly and incompetent Marine Headquarters, let them slowly grow to fear Whitebeard's reputation and then anxiously worry about his next move.

What we should do is follow Vice Admiral Yann, then intercept him, and even defeat Whitebeard.

As for whether Yann could be a match for Whitebeard, these naval officers, as Yann's direct subordinates, had almost no doubts or confusion in their hearts!

Chapter 664 Chasing After Them

[Chapter 664. They're all such good actors!]

After a moment of shock, the naval officers in the command room felt a surge of excitement.

First came "Red-Haired" Shanks and "Beasts" Kaido, then "the most dangerous man in the world" Dragon, followed by Whitebeard...

Even though Vice Admiral Yann never made any announcements or uttered any vows that would shake the seas, the marines present sensed that Vice Admiral Yann intended to pacify the entire "New World" seas, and even the entire "Great Pirate Era," all by himself!

'Chase after them!'

What an assertive and direct statement!

At that moment, the eyes of the naval officers seemed to be slightly red.

With Vice Admiral Yann's words, the naval officers understood what they should do and were creating something...

That's right, right now... we're creating a whole new legend alongside Lieutenant General Yann!

No matter what, we must help Lord Arn. We will be the assistants and witnesses of this new legend!

The blood of justice is boiling over!

Before Arn could react, he suddenly sensed a significant change in the atmosphere of the entire command room. The numerous naval officers were all bustling about, assisting in maneuvering the naval warships with unparalleled efficiency, and then propelling them forward at full speed.

"These guys... why are they acting like they've been injected with adrenaline for no reason?"

Yann, who only spoke two sentences throughout the entire process, felt somewhat confused. However, after spending a while in the command room and confirming that they were indeed heading towards the area where the "Moby Dick" was located, he did not delve further into this minor issue.

Even though Yann didn't have a clear idea of ​​Whitebeard's purpose, he still had to get the naval warships to keep up with the "Moby Dick" for the time being.

"Whitebeard, what exactly are you trying to do? Have you sensed some changes in the sea? Or has some intelligence triggered you?"

Arn narrowed his eyes slightly and then began to review the information about what happened at sea before and after Whitebeard left his territory.

The movements of various factions, the changes at Laugh Tale (the "final island"), and whether the World Government and the Navy have secretly devised any plans targeting Whitebeard...

Finally, when Rear Admiral Hope brought over a stack of the Navy's latest wanted posters from that period, Yann saw the wanted poster for "Portgas D. Ace" and instantly understood.

"This is... the only possibility!"

Yann smiled slightly, then reviewed all the information related to Portgas D. Ace.

Just as the war in Wano Country reached its most intense stage, a Logia-type pirate with the "Flame-Flame Fruit" appeared in the East Blue—Portgas D. Ace.

And taking advantage of the Navy's temporary inattention, within a few months, the "Spade Pirates" founded by Portgas D. Ace quickly entered the Grand Line and arrived at the Sabaody Archipelago, becoming the most dazzling and only "Supernova" pirate in recent years.

When the Navy Headquarters belatedly realized the danger posed by Portgas D. Ace, and then dispatched Vice Admiral Garp and Admiral Aokiji to the Sabaody Archipelago to try to eliminate this dazzling "supernova".

The final result was that Portgas D. Ace caused a huge disturbance in the Sabaody Archipelago, broke through Vice Admiral Garp's defenses, and successfully left the Sabaody Archipelago by melting the sea that Admiral Aokiji had personally frozen with his scorching flames.

With this, Portgas D. Ace became a household name overnight, and his bounty skyrocketed from 50 million Berries to 550 million Berries.

However, the major events that occurred in Wano Country during that period attracted the attention of almost the entire sea. Portgas D. Ace's actions, which were originally enough to amaze the entire sea, were completely overshadowed by Yann's aura.

After browsing through all the information about Portgas D. Ace in the Navy, Yann couldn't help but rub his forehead in frustration.

It would be a miracle if the combination of Vice Admiral Garp and Admiral Aokiji could stop Portgas D. Ace.

This is basically Vice Admiral Garp seeing off his grandson, escorting him on the final journey of the second half of the Grand Line, and incidentally testing Ace's growth.

Especially with the Aokiji, it just looks so fake.

Anyone who has worked at the Navy Headquarters for a few years knows that Admiral Aokiji was once Vice Admiral Garp's direct subordinate, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Admiral Aokiji was Vice Admiral Garp's disciple.

Then, Yann simply calculated based on the time Portgas D. Ace left the Sabaody Archipelago as recorded in the naval intelligence, and muttered to himself.

"Portgas D. Ace has been in the latter half of the Grand Line for less than half a month..."

Unfortunately, the Navy's intelligence capabilities in the "New World" waters were quite weak, and they simply couldn't pinpoint Portgas D. Ace's exact location.

Whitebeard's abrupt action made Arn sense something unusual.

If Whitebeard had stayed in his territory, Ace, with his strength, would have had no chance of breaking in, let alone meeting Edward Newgate, the "strongest man in the world."

So, was Whitebeard deliberately giving Ace a chance to challenge him?

So...

"Whitebeard definitely knew Ace's true identity!"

Based on the information he knew from his previous life, he realized that Ace's true identity was Yann, the son of "Pirate King" Roger, and made this judgment almost instantly.

"Those old fogies from the last era definitely still have some unknown connections among themselves..."

"Or perhaps, Vice Admiral Garp deliberately staged that farce to tell Whitebeard who Roger's son was?"

"These guys are really good actors!"

"Portcus D. Ace..."

Finally, Yann murmured the name, his eyes slightly narrowed as he pondered.

It has to be said that Yann had previously focused most of his attention on Luffy and hadn't really paid much attention to Roger's son.

After all, in terms of strength, talent, or personality, Ace was not outstanding enough for Arn to take notice.

In contrast, Yann admires Sabo the most, who has been the commander of the Revolutionary Army for almost two years now.

Sabo may not have the same superior bloodline as Luffy and Ace, but in addition to the powerful physical skills he has developed through hard work, Sabo is more importantly steady in his actions, mature in his thinking, sharp in his mind, and full of empathy and a sense of justice. He also has a high degree of understanding and support for the Revolutionary Army's ideology.

Chapter 665 They're all such good actors!

[Chapter 665. The Encounter Between Whitebeard and Ace]

In Yann's view, Ace's greatest value now lies only in the bloodline within him.

As the son of the Pirate King Roger, if Ace's identity were exposed, then in order to uphold justice and to prove the correctness of the Navy's decision to execute the Pirate King Roger at the cost of triggering the "Great Pirate Era," they would almost do anything to eliminate Ace.

In other words, Ace was a real powder keg, capable of igniting a war that could change the course of history at any moment.

Furthermore, Whitebeard's unusual behavior has made Yann realize Ace's true value.

"A powder keg that could explode at any moment, if used properly..."

Just as Arn was pondering this, the Den Den Mushi inside Kogane rang, making Arn's eyes light up, and he hurriedly answered the Den Den Mushi.

"Lord Yann, the pure gold lanternfish is showing signs of surfacing soon," Enel's excited voice rang out.

“Location and time,” Yann asked.

However, when Yann compared the location reported by Enel on the sea chart, his face darkened.

That location was right on the route that the Whitebeard Pirates were traveling.

If the Whitebeard Pirates do not change their course, there is a very high probability that the Pure Gold Lanternfish will encounter the Whitebeard Pirates when it surfaces.

If Yann were to deal with the pure gold lanternfish during that time, he would undoubtedly expose everything to the Whitebeard Pirates.

However, Yann had been waiting for the appearance of the pure gold lanternfish for over a year, and Tiger, leading the "Sun Pirates," along with Enel, had been continuously tracking and monitoring the pure gold lanternfish for almost a year.

If we miss this opportunity, let alone when the next one will come...

"The situation...is complicated..."

After confirming the relevant information with Enel several times, Yann muttered something with a somewhat unpleasant expression.

How to deal with it?

How to provoke the Whitebeard Pirates to change course?

However, Whitebeard was clearly heading in Ace's direction, so it would be difficult to distract Whitebeard, who was about to come into contact with Ace, with something else...

Even if Yann chooses to invade Whitebeard's territory at this time, Whitebeard would likely choose to make contact with Ace first and then turn back to deal with Yann.

As for directly targeting Ace, that would undoubtedly be a provocation against Whitebeard, and could very likely lead to even more chaotic consequences.

However, if nothing is done, given the attraction of the Whitebeard Pirates being followed by countless forces, the appearance of the pure gold lanternfish is likely to be known by a large number of forces at the same time.

Countless ideas raced through Arn's mind, but none of them seemed highly feasible.

More importantly, the time for the pure gold lanternfish to rise to the surface is very close, leaving very little time for Yaen to make his plans.

Finally, a risky plan slowly took shape in Arn's mind.

Immediately, Yann contacted Dragon and said directly, "Drag, have Xiong send Sabo to this location right away..."

……

Two days later.

The Spade Pirates' ship was sailing against the wind and waves towards a certain direction, while Ace stood at the bow, his eyes fixed intently on what lay ahead.

Based on the Vivre Card and information he bought from the underground black market, the Whitebeard Pirates should be not far ahead, and Edward Newgate is right there!

For the Spade Pirates, who had only recently entered the "New World" seas, they had no idea how valuable the Vivre Cards and navigation information that could reveal the location of the "Whitebeard Pirates" were.

This kind of thing is something that would never even appear in the underground black market.

Or rather, if anyone in the underground black market dared to touch such a thing, they would probably be wiped out by the Whitebeard Pirates very quickly.

However, at this moment, Ace, who was quite lacking in common sense, was confident in his own abilities, and his companions, trusting in Ace's terrifying strength that had overwhelmed them all the way, were completely unaware of any problem with Ace challenging Whitebeard, and even less did they suspect that there was anything wrong with the information they had paid a lot of money for.

Soon, amidst the raging wind and rain, the vague outline of a giant pirate ship resembling a whale came into Ace's view.

"Found it!!!"

Ace shouted excitedly, and at the same time, incredibly hot flames ignited on his body, like a small sun slowly rising in a storm.

"Whitebeard, I, Portgas D. Ace, challenge you!!!"

A proud and confident voice rang out from afar amidst the storm, brimming with youthful vigor.

However, to the officers who were sailing with Whitebeard at that time, these words sounded incredibly arrogant.

"Portgas D. Ace? Where did this brat come from?!"